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Barugo
Municipality
Municipality of Barugo
Church of Barugo
Flag
Map of Leyte with Barugo highlighted
OpenStreetMap
BarugoLocation within the Philippines
Coordinates: 11°19′N 124°44′E / 11.32°N 124.73°E / 11.32; 124.73
Country	Philippines
Region	Eastern Visayas
Province	Leyte
District	2nd district
Barangays	37 (see Barangays)
Government
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Dr. Aron C. Balais
• Vice Mayor	Josephine C. Tiu
• Representative	Lolita T. Javier
• Councilors	List • Antonio C. Arpon • Jeffrey P. Cañezal • Jose A. Avestruz • Jesus B. Cabanacan • Roberto A. Modesto • Oscar L. Apostol • Rodolfo P. Badiable • Federico A. Ayes DILG Masterlist of Officials
• Electorate	23,673 voters (2022)
Area
• Total	84.62 km (32.67 sq mi)
Elevation	80 m (260 ft)
Highest elevation	1,290 m (4,230 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population
• Total	34,497
• Density	410/km (1,100/sq mi)
• Households	7,957
Economy
• Income class	4th municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	26.95% (2021)
• Revenue	₱ 122.2 million (2020)
• Assets	₱ 265 million (2020)
• Expenditure	₱ 167 million (2020)
• Liabilities	₱ 61.14 million (2020)
Service provider
• Electricity	Leyte 3 Electric Cooperative (LEYECO 3)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	6519
PSGC	0803706000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)53
Native languages	Waray Tagalog
Website	www.barugo-leyte.gov.ph

Barugo (IPA: ), officially the Municipality of Barugo (Waray: Bungto han Barugo; Tagalog: Bayan ng Barugo), is a municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,497 people.

Residents of the town of Barugo are traditionally referred to as Barugonon but often incorrectly referred to as Barugueños.

Barugo is a town in the northern coastal part of Leyte province facing Carigara Bay, 50 kilometres (31 mi) north-west of Tacloban City, whose history dates back to the early days of Spanish colonization.

Etymology

In Barugo there is a legend which was being taught to elementary pupils during the 1950s and 1960s regarding how the town got its name. The legend goes like this: "Once upon a time there was a man named Cassadok. One day while he was resting by the river bank under the shade of a giant tree, a Spaniard came along and asked him the name of the place. Cassadok did not understand Spanish and thinking the Spaniard was asking the name of the big shady tree, answered "Balugo." From that time on, the place came to be known as "Balugo." When the Americans came, they changed the letter "L" to "R" and thus to this day the town is called Barugo." This story has no basis in fact and is simply a legend. For the early Spanish historians and chroniclers have always referred to the town by the name it carries today, Barugo.

History

Early during the Spanish rule, the area was given the status of a pueblo (town) when it was established as an "encomienda." An encomienda was a land estate awarded to deserving Spaniards for services rendered to the Spanish Crown. The grantee of an encomienda, known as encomiendero, was given the right to rule the encomienda in accordance with the Spanish laws and to extract tributes from the natives, part of which went to the Spanish Crown.

Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the first governor of Las Islas Filipinas, started the practice of designating large landed estates as encomiendas. Only ten months after Cebu and Manila became encomiendas, Barugo was also designated as one on November 3, 1571. Rodrigo de Vargas was the first encomiendero for Barugo.

The education of the natives in Leyte started with the arrival of the Jesuits on July 16, 1595. The mission schools in the beginning concentrated on the basics of Christianity. Barugo initially was only a "visita" of Carigara, meaning that it was under the administrative and spiritual supervision of the curate of Carigara, and was under the care of Fr. Mateo Sanchez, who eventually became its first parish priest after Barugo was declared as an independent parish. It was Fr. Sanchez who established the first church in Barugo.

The Jesuits stayed in Leyte from 1595 to 1767. During that time they expanded their influence starting from Carigara and Barugo, in the hinterlands of Ogmuc (Ormoc), Dulac (Dulag), Palo, Alangalang, Malibago (?) and the entire island of Cibabaw (Samar). When Charles III of Spain ordered the expulsion of the Jesuits from all Spanish dominions in 1767, the Jesuit mission on Leyte was handed over to the Augustinians. And later in 1843, the same missions were taken over by the Franciscan Friars. Fray Timoteo Calderon was the first Franciscan curate assigned to Barugo. At that time in 1843, Barugo already had 1,744 taxpayers and 8,381 residents. The towns of Alangalang, Jaro, Babatngon, Malibago (?) and San Miguel were once only "visitas" of Barugo.

Today Barugo nestles along the coast of Carigara Bay. But the original settlement of Barugo was way upstream by the banks of the Himanglos River, which during the time of the conquistadores was called Barugo River.

It is highly probable that the first Barugo settlement was in the place which is now known as Nasunogan, meaning a place burned down. This assumption is born by the fact that the old Spanish road leading to the towns of Tunga and Jaro starts at this place and the ruins of an old Spanish stone church is found there. This assumption is also corroborated, firstly, by the writings of Fr. Chirino wherein he described their travels by foot to Barugo and of a settlement by "la orilla," meaning by the bank of a river and by the mouth of the river. Secondly, the story of Fr. Mateo Sanchez, regarding their attempt to reach a seriously sick man, tells of their travel from the town of Barugo by "a small boat in which we sailed to seek our sick man, who was living in horon, far from the town and near the coast."

From Nasunogan, after the old settlement was burned, the people moved to another place which is now called Binongto-an, meaning a place abandoned as a town, now a sitio of Barangay Pikas. The settlers did not stay there long and moved eventually to the present site of the town. This conclusion stems from the fact that lasting structures can be found in Binongto-an.

(Excerpts from the research, Barugo - Its Fabled History, by a prominent Barugon-on, the late Joel Villasin Aruta; excerpts edited by JC Himanglos.)

Geography

Barangays

Barugo is politically subdivided into 37 barangays.  Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Abango
• Amahit
• Balire
• Balud
• Bukid
• Bulod
• Busay
• Cabarasan (Daliran)
• Cabolo-an
• Calingcaguing
• Can-isak
• Canomantag
• Cuta
• Domogdog
• Duka
• Guindaohan
• Hiagsam
• Hilaba
• Hinugayan
• Ibag
• Minuhang
• Minuswang
• Pikas
• Pitogo
• Poblacion Dist. I (Cor)
• Poblacion Dist. II
• Poblacion Dist. III
• Poblacion Dist. IV
• Poblacion Dist. V
• Poblacion Dist. VI (New Road)
• Pongso
• Roosevelt
• San Isidro
• San Roque
• Santa Rosa
• Santarin
• Tutug-an

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Barugo, Leyte, was 34,497 people, with a density of 410 inhabitants per square kilometre or 1,100 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy

Poverty incidence of Barugo

Barugo remains an agricultural town producing rice, corn and copra. Residents of a few coastal barangays are engaged in small-scale fishing and aquaculture. Its cottage industries are the manufacture of tuba (coconut palm wine) and roscas (sweet pastries made of flour, sugar, eggs and shortening). Not unlike the rest of the country, its economy is partly driven by dollar remittances from overseas workers.

Government

Elected officials

These are the elected officials of the Municipality of Barugo as a result of the 2019 elections:

• Mayor: Balais, Dr. Aron C.
• Vice Mayor: Tiu, Josephine C.
• Members of the Sangguniang Bayan:
  • Dehayco, Don
  • Avestruz, Wayne
  • Calzita, Ed
  • Astorga, Nikkos
  • Balais, Clinio
  • Cañezal, Jeffrey
  • Cabanacan, Jesse
  • Adrales, Domingo

References

• COMELEC Official 2013 Election Results. Date Accessed: 6 May 2014, 5:39 PM.

1.  Municipality of Barugo | (DILG)
2. "2015 Census of Population, Report No. 3 – Population, Land Area, and Population Density" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. Quezon City, Philippines. August 2016. ISSN 0117-1453. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
3. ^ Census of Population (2020). "Region VIII (Eastern Visayas)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
4. "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
5. "Cities, towns & villages in Eastern Visayas". www.mapsguidesandmore.com. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
6. "Province:". PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
7. "Barugo: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
8. Census of Population (2015). "Region VIII (Eastern Visayas)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
9. Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region VIII (Eastern Visayas)" (PDF). Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. National Statistics Office. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
10. Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region VIII (Eastern Visayas)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. National Statistics Office.
11. "Province of". Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
12. "Poverty incidence (PI):". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
13. "Estimation of Local Poverty in the Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 29 November 2005.
14. "2003 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 23 March 2009.
15. "City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates; 2006 and 2009" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 3 August 2012.
16. "2012 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 31 May 2016.
17. "Municipal and City Level Small Area Poverty Estimates; 2009, 2012 and 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. 10 July 2019.
18. "PSA Releases the 2018 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
19. "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.

External links

• Official Website of the Municipality of Barugo
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System

v t e Places adjacent to Barugo
Carigara Bay Carigara Barugo San Miguel Tunga

v t e Province of Leyte
Tacloban (capital and largest city)
Municipalities	Abuyog Alangalang Albuera Babatngon Barugo Bato Burauen Calubian Capoocan Carigara Dagami Dulag Hilongos Hindang Inopacan Isabel Jaro Javier Julita Kananga La Paz Leyte MacArthur Mahaplag Matag-ob Matalom Mayorga Merida Palo Palompon Pastrana San Isidro San Miguel Santa Fe Tabango Tabontabon Tanauan Tolosa Tunga Villaba
Component city	Baybay
Independent component city	Ormoc (Administratively independent from the province but grouped under Leyte by the Philippine Statistics Authority.)
Highly urbanized city	Tacloban (Administratively independent from the province but grouped under Leyte by the Philippine Statistics Authority.)

• Municipalities of Leyte (province)